Right now, on Discovery channel…a look inside MotivePower, where locomotives are built and overhauled.
Well, not Mike’s best…but at least we know all cranes at MPI use North/South/East/West for directional control…
The dirty part is servicing the machine in the field, after years of dirt, grease, goop and unidentified slime has built up on it. Crawling around underneath, then up through the frame and bits to replace a leaking hydraulic hose, usualy in the dead of summer when it’s 100 plus and the machine is hot from running all day.
Building them is the clean part. Driving a machine from Wilmington to Norfolk after it’s been abandoned by the railrod for 5 years, full of rotting foam and rat hairs, with no heat, leaking cabin and a barely functional engine is something I’d like to see Mike do. I’ve done it and let me tell you, it’s best to burn your clothes and get new ones from the thrift store after an adventure like that.
Well, Mike has in the past shoveled out a garbage truck, cleaned up animal fat, swept coal dust off a conveyor, and other crappy, filthy jobs, so it’s not like he’s fastitious on the show - true, this episode he pretty much only cleaned a steel cutting bed (got to play with forklifts - very photogenic), grit-blasted a new locomotive underframe (eh), helped disassemble a loco power plant (cleaning out some oil & grease in the process), and finally drove a loco around a bit on the in-plant trackage, so he wasn’t really at his peak muckiness, but hey.
Last railroad episode (a long while back) I think he just replaced some rotted ties on a tourist railroad…
very cool, trains + tv = awesome
Watched it last night - the engines they were building/testing were for the Minnesota ‘Northstar Corridor’. From some of the photo shots on the platform with the overhead walkway, it looks like they also shot some of the footage on the BNSF north of Mpls. Jim
At least we can all thank our lucky stars that MPI wasn’t visited by “Extreme Trains” from the History Channel. [:)]
My impression of the show was:
1). Too much time spent on the plasma cutter in action. It was kinda boring, and didn’t have much to do with railroads specifically (any CNC machine shop that has a plasma cutter will look just like that), and it was too clean. Cleaning the machine was more interesting, but it went on just a little too long for what they did. I’d give it a Dirty Rating of 2 out of 10 (where 1 is an office job and 10 is something so gross I won’t even watch it).
2). The gritblasting was a good segment, as it wasn’t too long and was interesting to watch Mike stumble around in the protective gear while trying to clean the loco frame. I would have prefered to see them blasting an old loco rather than a new frame, but it was still neat to watch (that scale on the plate steel is tough stuff to remove…and the sparks coming from the grit was new to me). Definitely a Dirty Job, and I’d give that a Dirty Rating of 5.
3). Tearing down an engine block was what I expect from Dirty Jobs. Another good segment, and we got to see things we, even as railfans, don’t get to see too often. Scary to see the failed rod and the damage to the engine. Interesting to see what it takes to pull an engine apart of that size. Laughing at Mike for not knowing “tighten” from “loosen” with the cheater bar. It had the required sludge factor from scooping up some oil remnants with a putty knife. Wondering why they let Mike run an overhead crane with a half an engine block swinging around under it. Too bad about running out of daylight, but the crew did a pretty good job getting in what action they could with the light they had. Again, a good segment, and what I like to see. I’d give that a Dirty Rating of 7.
4). I
Hi,
We saw a good portion of it, and as always Mike informs and is entertaining at the same time. The show was intended for a general audience, and not us train nuts specifically. Ha, my personal gripe is when a loco is called a “train” - but again, the show is intended for a general audience.
Mike (AND the cameramen) have done things most of us would love to try, and some things most all of us would run from. And, the program clearly demonstrates how “life as we know it” requires a lot of folks to do unappetizing and unappreciated jobs to be maintained.
ENJOY,
Mobilman44
How cool to think that one of my favorite TV hosts is looking inside at the inner works of the thing I adore.
Paul,
While many North American locomotives are in fact diesel-electric, there are many other locos and rail vehicles that are diesel-hydraulic. In Spain for example, the Talgo XXI high speed passanger train is hydraulic and set a world record for speed. Many urban lines in England run diesel-hydraulic power cars. Almost all other types of rail maintenance equipment are diesel-hydraulic. I work exclusively on Plasser equipment and except for a few small items, they are 100 percent hydraulic in drive train and working bits.
Hydraulic drive is better in many ways than electric. It is more predictable, safer, and provides more power for less energy expenditure than electric drives. It will be the way of the future of rail power, along side of catenary or third rail electric.
And yeah, I’m not taking anyting away from Mike Rowe, he does some NASTY jobs. But if he wanted a scuzzy job on a railroad, he could have done a lot better than a nice clean factory.
Or you can give those clothes to the thrift store.[:-,][:-^] I never have like the Disc. channel or Hist. channel shows. They are dumbed down to keep the general public interested. Smarter people get bored with the information they already know. Or the UFO stuff the Hist. channel has been putting on.
MadSinger
tangerine-jack,
Ah, you didn’t mention MoW equipment, I just assumed you were talking locomotives (since that was what the show was about).
About hydraulic vs. electric…I dunno if diesel-hydraulics are going to take over the US market. I’ll grant you that it’s safer (less chance of fires or electrocution), and it’s been a long time since I took my engineering classes, so I’ll go along with the more power for less energy idea. I’m not so sure about it predictable, however. What do you mean? I’m just not understanding what that refers to. Is it like reliablity? Or in the sameness of action over repeated use?
I think the primary thing is cost, and that refers no only to initial purchase cost but also maintenance and replacement cost. IIRC, isn’t that what sunk the Krauss-Mauffi’s of the SP and D&RGW? They ran alright, but they were expensive to keep running (again, IIRC). I know one thing…electronics don’t generally develop leaks. [;)]
Paul A. Cutler III
Weather Or No Go New Haven
Yes, reliability and repeatability is a key to hydraulics. The KM locos were an old design and even for the time they were not that great. Modern locos could be built using modern computer controls (like my Plasser equipment) and be a match for any D-E loco on the market today. From what I remember the KM locos used an automobile styled transmission which was the inherent weakness in the design. Today all functions of flow control and pressure are controlled either electricly by computer or by pilot pressure in the hydraulic system itself. It’s a pretty slick set up if you’ve ever had the opportunity to see one.
Modern equipment has engine power connected directly to hydraulic pumps, which drives a motor (or motors) on the axle. With a computer control system, the valving and everything else associated with controlling torque and speed is all hands off and the operator never needs to know what goes on underneath. It’s far too complex to get into detail here, but I am a firm believer in hydraulic power and control.
Cost is a factor that I believe would be in favor of deisel hydraulic, but I really don’t have any hard numbers to back it up.
Mike Rowe is hilarious. I loved the episode. I guess it’s just a matter of time before he did a job referring to a locomotive. I thought it was scary about the engine cleaning system- the operator found gloves, a hat and a beer bottle in it once.
I really like Mike Rowe–it takes a good sense of humor to do his show, he’s funny and entertaining at the same time. I was surprised–and pleased-- to find out that he sang with San Francisco Opera for some years. Evidently he’s got a really fine baritone voice.
Actually, I think he’d be a really good host for EXTREME TRAINS if the HIstory Channel ever decides to bring it back. He could bring a lot of wide-eyed wit to the series. And he really seems to LIKE trains, even if he calls them “Choo-choos” (You GO, Mike!).
Tom [:)]
I think he actually did that on a UP siding. might have been BNSF though, I’m trying to remember which engines went rolling by on the main, I think it was a Santa Fe/BN consist, so probably BNSF.
I love dirty jobs, but I haven’t been watching the new episodes, now I’m ticked I missed this one.